Sen. David Suetterlein

Department of Motor Vehicles; fees. Reducesthe fee for the issuance of an original, duplicate, reissue, or renewal special identification card without a photograph; authorizes theDepartment of Motor Vehicles to negotiate with the Department ofHealth to retain a portion of the $12 fee for each copy of a vitalrecord that the Department of Motor Vehicles issues in lieu of collectingthe $2 processing fee required by current law; and removes fees specificto transportation network companies for certificates issued by theDepartment of Motor Vehicles and provides that such companies aresubject to the same fees that apply to all applicants for originallicenses, permits, or certificates and transfer of a license or certificate.

Public schools; certain local school divisions; youth and community violence prevention; Community Builders Pilot Program established; report. Establishes the Community Builders Pilot Program for the purpose of reducing youth involvement in behaviors that lead to gun violence and increasing community engagement among public school students by providing to students who are entering the eighth grade and enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools opportunities during the school year after regular school hours and during the summer months for community engagement, workforce development, postsecondary education exploration, and social-emotional education and development. The bill provides that the school boards of Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools shall be responsible for the administration of the Program and are directed to collect data and report to the Governor and relevant committees of the General Assembly by November 1 of each year on the progress of the Program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 484.

Hate crimes and discrimination; ethnic animosity; penalties. Provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to safeguard all individuals within the Commonwealth from unlawful discrimination in employment and in places of public accommodation because of such individual's ethnic origin and prohibits such discrimination. The bill also adds victims who are intentionally selected because of their ethnic origin to the categories of victims whose intentional selection for a hate crime involving assault, assault and battery, or trespass for the purpose of damaging another's property results in a higher criminal penalty for the offense. The bill also provides that no provider or user of an interactive computer service on the Internet shall be liable for any action voluntarily taken by it in good faith to restrict access to material that the provider or user considers to be intended to incite hatred on the basis of ethnic origin. This bill incorporates SB 120 and is identical to HB 18.

Public schools; certain local school divisions; youth and community violence prevention; Community Builders Pilot Program established; report. Establishes the Community Builders Pilot Program for the purpose of reducing youth involvement in behaviors that lead to gun violence and increasing community engagement among public school students by providing to students who are entering the eighth grade and enrolled in Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools opportunities during the school year after regular school hours and during the summer months for community engagement, workforce development, postsecondary education exploration, and social-emotional education and development. The bill provides that the school boards of Roanoke City Public Schools and Petersburg City Public Schools shall be responsible for the administration of the Program and are directed to collect data and report to the Governor and relevant committees of the General Assembly by November 1 of each year on the progress of the Program. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 626.

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; real estate brokers; places of business. Defines "place of business" for real estate brokers. The bill requires every principal broker to have readily available to the public in his primary place of business the firm license, principal broker license, and the license of every salesperson and broker active with the firm and requires each branch office, defined in the bill, to have readily available to the public the branch office license and a roster of every salesperson or broker assigned to that branch office. Finally, the bill requires any nonresident real estate broker residing in a state that mandates resident real estate brokers of the Commonwealth to maintain a place of business in such mandating state to maintain a place of business in the Commonwealth. This bill is identical to HB 1237.

Admission to bail; act of violence. Provides that a judicial officer who admits a person to bail who is charged with an act of violence shall notify the attorney for the Commonwealth for the jurisdiction in which such person's case is filed either before or simultaneous with such person's grant of bail or release. The bill provides that such notice may be made by facsimile or other electronic means.

Elections; candidates for office; conduct of primaries; declaration of candidacy. Provides that the declaration of candidacy include a statement that if the signer's name appears on the primary ballot and he is not nominated then his name is not to be printed on the ballots for that office in the succeeding general election. This bill is identical to HB 90.

Center for Rural Virginia; name change. Renames the Center for Rural Virginia as the Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Center for Rural Virginia. This bill is identical to HB 1381.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; slot-retention requests; Developmental Disability waivers; sunset. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to amend their regulations to allow for support coordinators to request and subsequently obtain approval of consecutive waiver slot-retention requests for a period of up to 365 calendar days for individuals who have been assigned a Developmental Disability waiver slot. Current regulations allow for four consecutive 30-day slot-retention extensions. The bill sunsets on June 30, 2026, and is identical to HB 577.

Board of Education; through-year growth assessment system; alternatives during 2024-2026 school years. Requires the Board of Education to permit school boards to administer, during the 2024-2026 school years, assessments as alternatives to the through-year growth assessment system established by the Board, provided that any such alternative assessment is aligned to the Standards of Learning. This bill is identical to HB 1076.